Winter Time Rendering

Chapter 42: Chapter 13: Bloody Pursuit (Part 1)

’Zhang Shutong! You have to figure it out! Hurry! Hurry up!’

...

Meng Qingyi’s expression was just as grave as he smelled the thickening stench of blood.

The man in front of them had been digging for nearly ten minutes.

He was clearly experienced.

Under the moonlight, he could vaguely make out the man tipping chunks of a corpse out of the bag, covering them with a layer of dirt, adding more pieces, and then covering those with another layer of dirt.

And with each layer, his own heart sank a little deeper.

’What kind of corpse could fill an entire woven sack?’

The answer required no thought.

’Shutong’s reasoning was sound. In a situation like this, it’s always better to stay out of trouble. That’s why he hadn’t really approved when he saw Ruoping pull out her phone a moment ago.’

’They could have just waited for the man to finish and leave. There was no need for their group to stir up trouble.’

’All they had to do was wait patiently.’

’That’s why he hadn’t even considered pulling out his own phone to contact anyone. An attempt like that could easily backfire.’

The boy held his breath, counting silently to himself. He patiently watched the man’s every move. Rather than hope to catch the murderer on the spot, he figured it was better to try and find some clues on the man.

And one thing had been bothering Meng Qingyi for a while now—

’What exactly was the man carrying on his back?’

Not the woven sack or the shovel. After the man had set those two items down, he noticed something else slung diagonally across his back.

In the moonlight, he could only make out its rough outline:

It looked like a rod of some sort, like a fire poker, but the end suddenly flared out. He really didn’t want to let his mind go there, but the object’s distinct shape was what filled him with such a grave sense of foreboding.

It was probably...

A shotgun.

’But whatever it is, there’s nothing we can do about it now.’ Meng Qingyi lowered his gaze and tried to even out his breathing. ’We just have to wait patiently... wait for him to leave...’

As he was thinking this, he turned his head and met Du Kang’s eyes. Du Kang was making faces at him, then jutted his chin toward the man’s back. Meng Qingyi knew what he meant. Du Kang was the best fighter in their group, and he was probably thinking not about how to stay hidden, but how to use this opportunity to rush out and kick the guy.

’Has that idiot not seen the gun on the man’s back?’

He shot Du Kang a stern look to stop him. Just as he was starting to get frustrated, he saw Ruoping’s shoulders suddenly twitch. She was staring straight ahead.

He followed her gaze and saw...

The man had moved.

In the darkness, the man pulled a dagger from his waist and strode toward the patch of reeds.

’What’s happening?’

Meng Qingyi froze when he saw this.

’What’s he doing?’

’Has he discovered us?’

’But that’s impossible!’

No matter how hard he tried to force himself to stay calm, he was, after all, still just a teenager. He was suddenly at a complete loss.

Ruoping was even worse off. Standing at the very front, she would be the first one in his path. Her entire body was trembling uncontrollably.

Their hearts leaped back into their throats. The group held their breath, their pulses pounding. But then, the man stopped just before the reeds. He brandished his dagger and, to their surprise, cut down a small clump of the grass.

Meng Qingyi suddenly understood.

The contents of the woven sack were nearly gone, but the thick stench of blood and decay still hung in the air, refusing to dissipate. It didn’t matter that the man had dug the pit deep, or that he had already covered the contents with several layers of soil.

It was all to no avail.

He was trying to use the reeds to cover up the smell of blood!

The man returned to the edge of the pit. He stuffed the reeds he was holding into the hole, stamped them down with his foot, and then added another layer of dirt.

But a deeper worry immediately surfaced in his mind.

’But if he keeps doing this...’

’Can we really stay hidden until he’s finished?’

...

Using the noise from the man shoveling dirt as cover, they had already shifted backward for the second time.

Meng Qingyi’s brow was deeply furrowed.

Their once-obscured view was gradually clearing up. A small patch of the dense reeds had been cut down, and they had no more room to back up.

Their bicycles were right behind them, and their hiding space had been compressed to its absolute limit.

The man stuffed the reeds into the pit bit by bit. The pile at his feet was nearly gone, but the large pit was still far from full. It was predictable what would happen next—

He would be back for more soon.

Only a few stalks of reeds remained in front of Ruoping, barely concealing her. She would definitely be exposed.

’We have to come up with a plan before he makes his move!’

’Run?’

’No, that won’t work.’

’He and Du Kang might make it, but Ruoping and Lu Qinglian wouldn’t get very far.’

’Then should we just risk it and fight?’

Meng Qingyi clenched his fists. He wrestled with the thought for a moment before slowly unclenching them.

He didn’t dare to take the gamble.

’We don’t have any real weapons. Shutong took the expandable baton with him when he left. Now we don’t have a single decent weapon. How are we supposed to fight him? With a folding stool from one of the bikes? A fishing rod?’

’There are four of us, sure, but the two girls’ fighting strength is negligible. The only ones who would be any use are me and Du Kang.’

’We could probably handle the dagger. I could use the folding stool as a shield, and if I can just block his first attack, we could take him down.’

However, what truly worried Meng Qingyi was the thing slung across the man’s back.

That’s why he didn’t dare to gamble.

’What if the four of us rush out and he just raises that gun? I know a man who can do all this without batting an eye won’t be merciful. He won’t hesitate for a second.’

’And if we wait for him to come back for more reeds to ambush him, Ruoping is right at the front. It would be too easy for her to get hurt in the chaos.’

Sometimes, thinking too carefully could backfire. One by one, ideas rose in his mind, only to be thought through and discarded. For a moment, Meng Qingyi was completely stuck, with no viable plan.

The pile of reeds at the man’s feet was almost gone. He was clearly not satisfied. He glanced over at their patch of reeds, seemingly sizing up how much more he would need.

An unavoidable sense of panic and indecision began to take hold of the boy.

’If only...’

’If only Shutong were here.’

Surprisingly, that was the thought that surfaced in his mind.

’Of course, he didn’t wish for Shutong to be right here with them, but for his best friend to happen to be returning right now. Even if Shutong himself couldn’t do much, the sound of his vehicle on the road might attract the man’s attention, giving them a chance to find an opening.’

’Unlike now, where their hands were tied and they couldn’t even make the slightest preparation.’

’Or if there were just one person up on the path to create a diversion, maybe that would be enough to break this stalemate.’

’But that was impossible.’

He watched Ruoping, her hands pressed to her chest as she stared fixedly ahead, seemingly lost in prayer, deaf to the world around her. Seeing her like that, Meng Qingyi took a deep breath and made his decision.

’I can’t wait any longer—’

But just as the thought formed in his mind...

And then, as if a god had answered his prayer...

something came floating down from the sky.

It landed right on the boy’s head.